Spectrum
by Dream Ablaze
Summary: Before, the only thing reserved, innocent Lina did was help her dad rate names. Now the small town girl plays an involuntary part in a secret mission staged by her senile neighbor Mr. Fuji. Takes place back in the good old days of Red and Blue. xD
1. Celadon Catastrophe

**Chapter One: Celadon Catastrophe**

_Hello reader. xD Uh… this is just the beginning of the story. More stuff will happen later. :3 Please review!_

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Lina's grey eyes stared up at the sky above her. It was cloudy, as usual, in her birthplace of Lavender Town. The whole village was small and grey, in a sense. Lavender-grey. A tiny valley town with no apparent reason for visiting it, Lavender was sleepy and slow. But what it lacked in excitement, it certainly made up in mystery: both in the town itself and its residents.

Lina was one of the only girls around her age who lived there. Of course, there were younger children, and a few adults, but most of the town was made up of older people. It was one of the biggest places to retire to in Kanto, though some did go to other towns as well. The only thing that made Lavender special was the huge tower in the northwest corner of the town. Pokemon Tower, where the ghosts of Pokemon rest, and only occasionally disturbed the town.

Oh, there was one more reason to visit. Lavender Town had the only Name-Rater in Kanto.

That Name-Rater happened to be Lina's father. Her mother was dead. Her maternal grandmother, strangely enough, was Agatha of the Elite Four. Agatha, though, barely spoke to Lina or her father. She blamed her daughter's death on her son-in-law, and Lina only saw the annoyed old woman at Christmas (decidedly _not_ her favorite holiday).

Lina spent most of her days wandering around the town, or visiting Mr. Fuji, or helping her dad. In a place where there weren't many kids to befriend, she was very close to her strange, loveable father. She was almost always found spending time with him, if she wasn't currently being employed by Mr. Fuji on his random odd jobs. Now, though, she lay in the soft grass just north of the town, staring up at the clouds passing.

Her hair was blue-black, and long. It fell to the small of her back, and was perfectly straight. Rigid bangs framed her face, and she wore a black-rimmed pair of glasses that gave her the air of someone utterly erudite and intellectual. She was very tall, and too thin: Mr. Fuji was always telling her to eat more. She wore a black pleated skirt with purple flats and knee socks, along with a plain purple shirt and a baggy black hoodie over it. Her pale face and bony arms made her look perfectly suited for Lavender Town: the grey, listless town of the north.

Suddenly, her phone rang, and she jumped. She fumbled for it in her backpack, finally pulling it out. Her purple phone told her that it was her dad calling.

She answered it, a smile spreading across her face. "Hi, Dad."

"Lina! Mr. Fuji has a job for you, but he couldn't seem to find you."

"I'm up near Rock Tunnel," she said, sitting up. "Does he want to see me now?"

"Yup. He sounded almost agitated, though that can't be right."

"Hopefully not." Lina stood up, slipped on her backpack, and started to walk back towards town. "How's your day been?"

"Well, a man came in wanting to change his Slowpoke's name. It took me all day to convince him to give him a name that didn't have either 'slow' or 'poke' in it."

"What'd you decide on?"

"Sluggish-prod. He got out a Thesaurus."

Lina laughed. "You get the weirdest people in there."

"Hey, at least it pays."

Lina slowed as she saw Mr. Fuji's house. "Dad, I gotta go. I'm almost there. See you later?"

"It's a date. But in a positively non-creepy way."

"Got it. Bye!"

"Over and out."

Lina hung up her phone at the same time she knocked on Mr. Fuji's door. It flew open, and the old man standing there pulled her inside.

"Lina!" he exclaimed. "Oh, I'm ever so glad to see you. Please, you must do something for me. I need someone to take this message to my friend in Celadon City."

Lina's eyes widened. "Celadon?" She'd never been to Celadon City before, but she'd heard stories. It was the biggest city around. A small-town girl like her would be absolutely _slaughtered_ in Celadon.

"Yes. I would take it myself, but I am too old. And decrepit."

"Uh, okay." Lina knew Mr. Fuji wanted to be young again, and she felt bad for him. "I guess I can, but – "

"Wonderful! Here's a map." He shoved a rolled up map into her hands.

"What about the message?"

"Oh! Tell him 'Recalled to Life'."

Lina hesitated, confused, before Mr. Fuji howled with laughter, making her jump slightly.

"Just kidding! Lina, I know you've read the classics."

Lina didn't actually know what he was talking about, but smiled and nodded anyway. It was best to do that when dealing with Mr. Fuji.

"The real message is this!" Mr. Fuji leaned in conspiratorially, making Lina do the same. Then Mr. Fuji threw a letter at her, and she caught it quickly, a bit startled as to where the letter had even _come_ from. "That is the message! Look for the Man who Knows Everything"

"Okay! I'll go do that, then!"

"Be careful on the streets of Celadon." Mr. Fuji said, then started to sing. "It's hard out there for a pi – "

"Mr. Fuji!" Lina cried. Her ears would have burned and fallen off if he'd sung any more. "I'm going now!"

She hurried out of the house and towards the road to Saffron. She'd have to walk through the second-biggest city to get to the biggest, which was overly alarming and made her feel slightly dizzy with anxiety and nerves. The only reason she'd hurried so fast from her hometown was because Mr. Fuji was acting crazy again.

As she walked along the road, she realized she should probably call her dad again. Getting out her phone, she dialed his number.

"Lina?" he answered. "Did you go see Mr. Fuji?"

"Yeah. He's kind of acting insane again. I'm going to – "

"Sorry, honey, I can't really talk right now. I'm with a customer."

In the background, Lina heard a voice. "Deeeeeear, deeeeeear! Won't yooou get off the phoooone and help meeee naaaame myyy Meeeeeeeeoowwwwwwth?"

"Gotta go! Bye!" Her dad hung up.

Sighing, Lina looked around at her surroundings. Numerous trainers stood around the path, training and waiting far too eagerly for someone to battle. She kept her head low and her light eyes trained on the ground as she hurried along. She wasn't a trainer, and couldn't battle anyone.

Unfortunately, a boy noticed her. "Hey! You! Slow down!"

Lina did the exact opposite and sped up. But he ran after her and grabbed her arm. Trying not to show she was scared, but failing almost miserably, Lina turned around to face him. "Wh-what do you want?"

"You wanna battle?"

"No!" She shoved his hand off her arm and ran away as fast as she could, leaving the boy scratching his head, confused.

She looked behind her to see if he was still following her and crashed right into a bike, making it topple over along with herself. She sat on the ground for a moment before she got up and brushed herself off. "I'm so sorry!" she apologized, to the biker who was pulling his bike up.

He glared at her. "Watch where you're going, man!"

"Sorry! Are you okay?"

He shot her another glare. "No thanks to you."

Another biker rode up. "Who's this kid?" he sneered.

"I don't know, man."

"Hey, kid, what's your name?" the second one asked.

"L-lina."

"Luh-leeeena?" he repeated, making a face. "Well, Luh-leeeena, you messed up my buddy's bike here. You wanna repay us with your Pokemon?"

"Uh, I don't have any…"

"A pretty little girl like you all alone, without any Pokemon to protect you?"

"I'm just going to Celadon – "

"Celadon, huh? Going to do some shopping? There's a thought. Hey, why don't you give us all your money instead?"

"N-no," she said. She didn't have very much with her, but she still didn't want them taking it, no matter how scared she was.

"No? Well, then, I guess we'll just have to help ourselves," he said, leaning forward to grab her backpack. She grabbed it and hung onto it as hard as she could as he tried to pry it from her.

"Hey, man, leave her alone," the first biker said "She's just a kid."

The second biker let go and leaned in close to her face. "You're just lucky Rico here doesn't get mad easy," he said. She nodded rapidly.

He rode off on his bike. The first biker, Rico, frowned at her again. "You should be more careful," he said, shaking his head. "Lavender kids," he muttered.

"Uh, thanks for the tip! I will be!" she said, backing away quickly, not wondering how he knew she was from Lavender.

"Hey, man, if you're going to Celadon, you should go through the underground path," he said. "You can skip Saffron then. It's real busy with Team Rocket right now."

Lina nodded, turned, and ran away. Sure enough, she saw a small building north of the passageway to Saffron. In front of the northern building, there was a sign that read "Lavender – Celadon". Walking inside, she saw that there were stairs heading down. Biting her lip, Lina hoped this wasn't a trap laid by the bikers, and began to go downstairs.

Once she had descended all the stairs, she found herself in a dimly lit hallway that stretched on and on. It seemed she'd been walking for hours when finally she saw stairs heading up in front of her. Relieved, she rushed up them and out of the underground path. When she opened the door, she saw a huge city to the west, and with a small smile on her face, headed towards it.

Once she had reached the city, she saw that this place had some members of Team Rocket in it too. They lurked around the edges, and she shivered a tiny bit when she passed them. Lina hurried into the Pokemon Center and headed to the main desk.

Nurse Joy smiled at her. "Hello, may I help you?"

Lina gave her a tiny smile back. "Uh, I was wondering if you knew where the Man Who Knows Everything is?"

The nurse frowned. "Sorry, no. But the most commonly visited places here are the Game Corner, Celadon Department Store, the Mansion, Celadon Restaurant, and the Gym."

"Thanks," Lina said, smiling. She left the center and checked her map. "Okay, the Game Corner?" she said to herself. Locating it on the map, she walked towards it. When she reached the building, she opened the door. To her surprise, the Game Corner was full of slot machines! Lina stood there for a moment, staring around. Was she allowed to go in? What if they arrested her? What would her dad say?

An old man approached her. "Heh heh heh, hello, you young thing, you."

Lina gulped as he came closer. "Uh, hi. Do you know where the Man Who Knows Everything is?" she asked quickly.

"Heh heh, no. But if you want, I can tell you a secret."

"Uh… that's okay! Really! Bye now!" Lina fled the Game Corner, her face red. She looked back to see the old man coming after her. Lina kept running until she reached a house – the restaurant on her map! Then she flung open the door and ducked inside.

"Whew," she said. She turned around, expecting to see the restaurant, but instead found three men staring at her blankly. One was old and fat, and the two others were dressed in the uniforms of Team Rocket.

"Who are you?" the fat, balding man demanded.

"Is this… the restaurant?" Lina asked, thoroughly confused.

"No." One of the Team Rocket men smiled and came towards her. "Won't you join Team Rocket? Please? Please?"

"No, that's okay…" Lina began to back out of the house.

The other Team Rocket man sighed. "We don't have enough members of Team Rocket! We need more!"

Lina looked at them, confused. "So you just ask random people who walk by if they'll be in it?" she couldn't help asking.

The first man nodded brightly. "Exactly! Once we accidentally asked Officer Jenny, though…"

The other man shrugged. "Oops!"

Lina gave them a tight smile and left quickly. Once she got outside, she sighed. Where was the restaurant? Suddenly, she heard a familiar senile cackling behind her and she jumped, racing into the building beside the Team Rocket house. "Please let these people be nice and normal and – " She looked around happily. She had run inside the restaurant! It looked identical to the house she'd been in before from the outside.

"Do you need a seat?" a waitress asked her.

"No, I'm just looking for someone… do you know who the Man Who Knows Everything is?"

The waitress shook her head. "Sorry, no. You should probably check the Gym, though. A lot of the men around here hang out in front of it, trying to see inside." She rolled her eyes.

"Okay, thanks!" Lina dashed out again, not checking to see if the old man was still following her. Using her map, she found the path to the Gym. Unfortunately, a skinny tree was in the way.

Lina sighed. She was wearing a skirt, but that apparently didn't matter to Mr. Fuji and his all-knowing buddy. She climbed the tree slowly, almost falling twice. Finally, she leapt to the ground on the other side of the tree and walked toward the Gym.

In front, there was only one old man trying to peek in the windows. By now, Lina was extremely sick of old men (Mr. Fuji, her stalker, etc.) and when she saw him, sighed. "Are you the Man Who Knows Everything?" she asked him.

He turned around. "No, sadly enough. Then I could figure out how to get into this Gym!"

"Do you know where the Man Who Knows Everything is?"

"No, sadly enough. Then he could tell me how to get into the Gym!"

Lina exhaled and turned around again. This time, she did fall when getting down the tree. At least it was forward, so she didn't have to re-climb it. She scraped her knees and hands, but luckily she wasn't bleeding. She trudged toward the Department Store.

It was hard to miss: the building was at least five stories tall, and the only other building that rivaled its size was its neighbor, the Mansion (which still wasn't quite as large). It seemed ages before she even reached the store, then finally opened the door, tiredly.

"Welcome to the Celadon Department Store!" a woman greeted her. Lina looked up and offered a small smile.

"Hi, do you know who the Man Who Knows Everything is?" she asked.

The woman shook her head, still smiling vapidly. "No, but we have 50 off Pokedolls!"

Lina left sadly. As she walked to the Mansion, her last hope, a little kid running around a fountain sprayed water on her. Just her luck. But she didn't say anything.

The Mansion loomed in front of her. Where the Department store had been modern, the Mansion was strangely out of place. It looked like it should have been in Lavender town instead. However, though it had a Victorian look to it, the Mansion was painted a happy color that reminded her of the sun, or at least a Psyduck. When she opened the door, a small room was to her left. Peering in, she saw an old woman surrounded by Pokemon.

"Um, hello," Lina said, a bit confused. "Do you know where the Man Who Knows Everything is? Or who he is?"

The woman's steely eyes met hers. Lina shifted, nervously fidgeting with her horn-rimmed glasses. Was she going to kill her or something? She shut her eyes in expectation, hoping it wouldn't hurt much.

"Actually, yes," the woman finally said.

"Uh… pardon me?" Lina opened her eyes again, tentatively.

"I do know where he is."

Lina stared at the old woman. "Wh…what? You… _do_?" She was taken aback. The Man Who Knew Everything wasn't just a senile figment of Mr. Fuji's dusty brain?

The woman nodded. "Yes. Now, you must go to the Pokemon center. But do not enter! From there, you head north up the alley, and follow it until you reach a door. Then, you enter it, and climb all the stairs. You will reach this Man Who Knows Everything."

"Thank you!" Lina exclaimed. Okay, so she wasn't a murderer. She was actually the most helpful person Lina had met so far!

She ran out of the Mansion and to the Pokemon center, racing as fast as she could up the alley and around. She had an idiotic smile on her face as she ran: she couldn't help but feel a little proud. She had come all the way to this city, after all, and hadn't gotten beat up _or _ had her things stolen. Okay, so she had come close to both, but she had been able to avoid it. People who lived here probably were threatened with both multiple times a day.

She was almost so lost in her thoughts as she ran that she didn't see the door. She suddenly stopped to a halt: she noticed it. But… it was in the back of the Mansion? Shrugging, Lina opened the door, then scaled the first staircase. She continued hurrying up the stairs until she reached the top of the building.

She suddenly grew nervous again, as she clutched the envelope that had the message in it. Coming to a door, she read what the sign outside it said: "I Know Everything". A tiny smile on her face, Lina knocked on the door.

"Come in."

She slowly turned the handle and opened the door. It was a small room, with a table and a chalkboard filled with information. A man dressed strangely as a ninja stood in front of her.

"Um, hello. Are you the Man Who Knows Everything?" Lina asked.

"Yes."

"I have a message for you. From Mr. Fuji."

He nodded. "Mr. Fuji is my friend." If he was happy to get a letter from him, he didn't show it. Lina handed over the envelope, and he took it, tore it open savagely, and read it.

"I see." He suddenly ripped up the letter, then crumpled each piece up, and shoved them all in his mouth, swallowing them. Lina watched, puzzled and slightly scared. The Man Who Knew Everything continued: "Thank you for delivering this message to me. Now, I will need you to take a message to the Safari Zone Warden in Fuchsia City. I trust you have a map?"

Lina blinked. Had she heard him right? "Uh… what?"

"You do have a map to lead you to Fuchsia City, correct?"

"I don't think I can – "

"Why am I asking? I know everything. You must be careful, though. The Cycling Road is full of bikers who will steal everything from you if you do not fight them. Here, I will give you a Pokemon."

"Wh-what?" Lina's head was spinning.

The Man Who Knew Everything threw a Pokeball at her. Lina caught it and looked at it in her hands.

"There. Now, go. Tell the Safari Zone Warden that the time has come to begin. He will know what you mean."

"Uh…?" Lina finally found her speech. "Look, I have to go back to Lavender! I can't just keep running around the country doing errands for people – "

"You will find my bicycle outside, in the alley. Here is the key. You must have a bike to ride down Cycling Road."

"I can't do this!"

"I know everything. Go." He pushed her out and closed the door, leaving Lina standing there, confused and lost.

About an hour ago she'd been relaxing near her quiet hometown that she rarely left, and now she was in the largest, busiest city in Kanto! She wasn't exactly sure how it had happened, but however it did, it was fast. And now she had a Pokemon? She didn't even know what kind it was! Lina stared at the Pokeball, silently asking it for answers. Of course, it gave none. Why was Mr. Fuji making her do this? What did he tell the Man Who Knew Everything? Why was it so important? And what was the Safari Zone Warden going to begin?

Life certainly got more confusing outside Lavender Town.

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_That's it for the first chapter. :3 Next chapter is Cycling Road, hooray! xD Please review! Oh, and can anyone EVER hope to guess what Pokemon she got? I know, it's pretty hard. xD_


	2. Aura and Cycling Road

_Yay, I updated way sooner than I thought I would! Thanks for the reviews!_

_Also, one thing that isn't Red/Blue: I use all kinds of attacks in this story, ones from all the way back in the original versions to Emerald attacks. D: Sorry, but I can't always remember which came when. Anyway, please read and review! 8D_

**Chapter Two: Aura and Cycling Road**

Lina's slender hand lingered on the doorknob. Nails tapping gently against it, she was lost in thought, almost too worried to open the door and go through. And for good reason, really: she wasn't overly fond of bikers (not that she'd met many before, but the ones earlier were enough), and she didn't want to get jumped by them. Of course, she now apparently had a Pokemon to fight off attackers, not that she had any clue as to what exactly that Pokemon was. She didn't even know all that much about Pokemon, besides the obvious information, and a few things about ghost-types (it came with the territory in Lavender). Other than that, her mind was blank, making her uneasy. She felt she should know more. How would she find out what attacks her new Pokemon even had?

"Miss, are you going through or not?" the gatekeeper asked impatiently.

"What? Oh, yes. I am. Going through." Lina realized where she was, and how long she'd been there. However she made no attempt to move.

"So… are you going through _now_?"

"Uhh… yes!" Caught by a sudden urge to be brave, Lina twisted the doorknob and marched through, hopping on the bike she'd received from the Man Who Knew Everything. Her backpack was strapped firmly onto her, with most of her things in it: cell phone, a water bottle she'd picked up at the Celadon Department Store on her second stop, and of course her new Pokemon. She wore a short skirt, which wasn't the best thing to wear when one rode a bike, but it wasn't as if she could go home and change now. She pulled the skirt's ends down as far as she could. Overall, with provisions, she was basically prepared for the tedious Cycling Road. But she'd forgotten about being _personally_ ready, and nearly fell off when she saw the group of bikers near the entrance, glaring at her.

"Just passing through," she said cheerily, pedaling by as fast as she could, trying to reach the slope.

"Not so fast!" A biker had caught up with her and loomed in her way. "Let's battle."

"Er… Do I have to?"

"Go! Koffing!" he yelled, throwing out a Pokeball and therefore answering her question. Out from the ball came a sickly-purple Pokemon who somehow resembled the moon to Lina (what with its craters and such). Its eyes were drooped and it had a huge frowning mouth, from which jagged fangs were produced. Dark gas drifted around its 'craters'.

Lina leaned to one side on her bike, balancing herself. Then she dug in her bag and pulled out the Pokeball after fishing around an awkward moment. Tossing it towards Koffing, she tried to sound official. "Go! Uh… you!"

The ball bounced on the ground before it sprang open and a Pokemon popped out. It was a tan fox-like Pokemon, with huge ears that rivaled its head in size. A bushy vulpine tail, dipped in white, curled around her haunches, and her feet were small and delicate. Cream-colored fur circled her neck in a collar. Bright, dark eyes looked up at Lina. "Eevee!" she exclaimed happily.

"Eevee?" Lina repeated. "Wow… I thought Eevees were really rare!"

"They are," said the biker, a little impressed. Then he shook his head. "It doesn't matter. It's still a Normal type, and those are weak!"

The Eevee frowned at him. "Vee…"

"It's okay, don't worry! We can still win!" Lina said. Her Eevee looked at her and smiled, and she smiled a tiny bit back. She'd never liked the idea of making Pokemon fight, but she'd realized that in some cases you had to – like when bikers were attacking you?

"Koffing, use Poison Gas!" the biker ordered.

"Eevee, use… uh… Quick Attack!" She remembered that Normal types didn't do any damage to Ghost-types, and that Quick Attack was one of the attacks she'd seen used against a Haunter.

Eevee didn't do anything for a moment. Lina frowned. Maybe Eevee didn't know that attack! But then, as Koffing opened its mouth and spewed out toxic gas, Eevee shot through the air and, holding her breath, slammed into the Koffing in a burst of speed that Lina almost missed when she blinked. The Koffing stopped, stunned, and Lina clapped. "Yay!"

"Koffing, Tackle!" the biker said.

"Eevee, uhh… Quick Attack again!"

Eevee darted into Koffing and sent it reeling back, but the gaseous creature slowly came back and tackled Lina's Pokemon, causing Eevee to fall back with a cry.

"Eevee! Are you okay?" Lina gasped.

Eevee got up. "Eev…"

"Koffing, tackle it again!"

Lina frowned, worried. She didn't know any other attacks Eevee knew! "Eevee… Quick Attack!"

"You'll never be able to beat me with the same attack over and over again!" the biker guffawed.

Eevee again crashed into Koffing, sending it down onto the ground. Koffing jumped up again and rammed into Eevee, tackling her.

Lina bit her lip, but realized that Koffing was panting heavily. Eevee looked tired too, but not as much as the Poison Gas Pokemon. "Eevee, do you know Tackle?" she asked.

Eevee nodded. "Eevee!"

"Koffing, Sludge!"

"Okay, use Quick Attack!" Lina said. "Then Tackle!"

Eevee leapt in a blur at Koffing again, but instead of hitting it, she jumped over it, and landed behind it. Koffing spit out rivers of sludge prematurely, then realized Eevee wasn't there, and looked around, confused. Eevee suddenly rammed into the Koffing from right behind it with a full-on Tackle. Falling forward, Koffing crashed to the ground. It had fainted.

"Eevee!" cried Lina's Pokemon happily.

"We won? Wow! Good job, Eevee!" Lina smiled.

"Hmmph. You're just lucky that Eevee was at a higher level than my Koffing," the biker muttered, recalling his Pokemon. "Come back, Koffing."

Eevee stuck her tongue out at him, and he rode away angrily.

"You did a great job…" Lina said happily.

"Vee!" Eevee smiled.

Something suddenly occurred to Lina. "Hey, I should give you a nickname, huh?"

"Eevee!" The fox Pokemon nodded, large ears flapping.

"How about… Aura?" Lina asked. That had been the name she'd always wanted when she was younger. It had always sounded so pretty to her, not that she didn't like her name too.

"Eevee!" she said happily, apparently pleased with her new name.

"Okay, Aura it is, then!" Lina agreed. "Hey, what attacks do you even have, Aura?"

Aura sighed. "Eevee," she said. Obviously she couldn't tell Lina.

"Okay, I know there's Quick Attack, and Tackle… what else?"

Aura suddenly jumped up onto Lina's bike, and dug through her backpack. "Hey, Aura! What're you doing…?"

Aura emerged with her cell phone in her mouth. She dropped it into Lina's hands, and jumped back down to the ground, looking at her trainer expectantly.

"My… cell phone?" Lina suddenly recalled a program she had on her phone, that she'd used all of one time. All the new phones these days had them: programs that recorded the information of Pokemon. She flipped open her phone and searched through her files for it, then located the program and opened it.

On the screen, there were two options: scan Pokemon and Pokedex. Lina chose scan Pokemon. _Please scan your Pokemon now_, the screen read. Lina pointed her phone's camera at Aura, and it made a scanning sound.

Lots of information popped up about Aura, but Lina scanned through it all to find her attacks. "There," she said, clicking on the 'attacks' button. _Quick Attack, Tackle, Tail Whip, Growl._ Not that she knew much what any of those meant. Lina clicked on each one individually, reading what it said about each one. _Quick Attack: an extremely fast attack._ Quick attack's stats were beside it. _Tackle: a fairly weak full-body attack. Tail Whip: lowers the foe's defense. Growl: lowers the foe's attack._

"Okay, then!" Lina said happily, loving technology. She closed her phone and looked to Aura. "You know Quick attack, Tail whip, Tackle, and Growl?"

Aura nodded. "Eev!"

Suddenly, Lina remembered something: the bikers! She looked back to see them glaring at her still. "Oops. We better go!" She held out her Pokeball. "Uh… come back, Aura!"

Aura disappeared in red light into the ball, and Lina tucked her away inside her backpack again. Then she got back on her bike and started pedaling again, this time down the hill. Once she reached the slope, she stopped pedaling and let the hill move the bike as she sat there. It was exhilarating having her long dark hair blow back and feeling the wind in her face. Though she was still a bit nervous about her distance from home, she was in a good, happy mood. After all, she had a new friend, Aura, now! And the Eevee had _liked_ the fight, much to her surprise. She'd felt guilty sending the little fox out to battle, but Aura had held her own and had done it happily.

She hadn't gone very far when she saw another group of bikers blocking the road in front of her. Eyes glancing side to side, she realized the only way to avoid them now would be to ride all the way back up the hill and go down a different road, or possibly swim through the water to the other side. And then, she saw, there were bikers on either road beside her too. She began to press lightly on the breaks, coming to a stop once she reached them. "Um… excuse me!" she squeaked, trying not to fight if she had to.

"Hey, it's the kid!" came a voice. Lina looked towards the speaker to see it was the biker who'd tried to steal her bag earlier, when she was walking to Celadon.

"Hey, it's… you…!" Lina gave him a fake smile. "So uh… can I get through?"

"Nice try. Rico's not here right now to protect you."

"Rico protected her?" asked another biker. She was huge – it was a wonder her bike wasn't squished – and her dirty blond hair was curly and greasy. By dirty blond, of course, it meant that her hair was a light gold color, with dirt and grime settled among it.

"He has a soft spot for little kids," the first biker spat.

"Maybe we shouldn't do anything then," hissed a voice from behind them, though Lina couldn't see who said it.

"I really have to get through," murmured Lina. "I'm in a hurry, a-and I can't be late…"

"Cheer up, kid! It'll only cost you a battle." The blue-haired biker nodded.

"She doesn't have any Pokemon," the first biker said.

"Ugh. Who would ride down Cycling Road without Pokemon?" came another's voice. This biker had gravity-defying blue hair and dark eyes.

"This little girl here, obviously." The first biker looked annoyed.

"Shut up, Jaren."

"How 'bout we each battle her?" The biker from before – Jaren – said.

"I only have one Pokemon," Lina said nervously.

"Even better!" Jaren grinned.

"I really have to get through," Lina repeated. "I have an important message for the Safari Zone Warden?"

"Fascinating," drawled the woman.

"I have an important message for you, too: NO!" said the blue-haired biker, looking proud of himself.

They all stared at him, then Jaren shook his head. "Okay. We only have one Pokemon each, too."

"But there's about six of you," Lina frowned.

"Fine! Battle me and… Andy here," Jaren said. Andy, the blue-haired biker, let out a happy yell.

Lina sighed. "Then you'll let me through?"

Jaren nodded. "Right, right. If you win, kid."

"…Fine." Lina sighed.

"I'll go first!" Jaren said. "Go, Bronco!" He threw the Pokeball and out came a Koffing, this one smaller than the one before.

Lina crossed her arms. Didn't the bikers have any other Pokemon? "Go, Aura!" Aura emerged from the Pokeball.

"Bronco, use Acid!"

"Aura, use…" Lina thought back. "Growl!"

Aura, being the faster Pokemon, growled at the Koffing, lowering its attack. Bronco spat out a mass of purple-black goo, which covered Aura.

"Aura! Are you okay?"

Aura shook herself, trying to get the acid off her coat. Other than shooting Lina a disgusted look, the vulpine Pokemon didn't seem too fazed by the attack.

"Now use Sludge Bomb!" Jaren called out.

"Aura, Growl again!" Lina didn't like the sound of Sludge Bomb. "Lower its attack!"

Aura obeyed, this time showing her white fangs. They were small, but sharp as Bronco's were blunt. The Koffing's attack fell again, though Jaren smirked. "Show them what a _real_ fight's all about!"

Bronco took a deep breath and shot a ball of poison sludge at Aura, hitting her straight in the chest. Rolling back, Aura cried out in pain as the ball exploded on impact. Stumbling over, the small Eevee lay crumpled in a heap on the ground, eyes closed.

"Aura!" Lina exclaimed, worried. She hopped off the bike, letting it fall to the ground, and hurried over to her Pokemon. "Aura, wake up!"

Aura opened one eye. "Vee," she said.

"Oh, you're okay!" Lina said, relieved. "Don't worry, Aura, we don't have to fight anymore, okay?" Though she didn't know how she'd be able to get past the bikers now. Lina reached out to pick up the Eevee, but Aura stood up, a little shakily, and jumped back towards the Koffing.

"Aura?" Lina blinked. "You want to fight more?"

Jaren glowered at the small creature. "Bronco, use Poison Gas!"

"Aura, Quick Attack!"

The Eevee became a shot of light as she pummeled into Bronco. Then, as fast as she could, she leapt away from it, as the Koffing used Poison Gas and exhaled a sickly plum-colored smoke at her. Aura dodged it easily.

"Try again, Bronco!"

"Tail Whip!"

Aura moved closer to Bronco again and lashed it with her fox-like tail, lowering its defense. Bronco used the same Poison Gas attack as before, and although Aura didn't jump away like she had previously, the gas didn't poison her.

_Poison Gas must not be very accurate,_ Lina thought.

"Tail Whip it again!"

"Bronco, Poison Gas again! This time, actually _do_ it!"

Aura hit Bronco right between the eyes with her tail, and the Koffing looked annoyed. Inhaling a breath of air again, it breathed out the same gas. But this time, Aura was poisoned by it, and she fell to the ground, coughing.

"Oh no, Aura!"

"Yes! Sludge Bomb!"

"Aura, watch out! Use Quick Attack!" Lina hoped that since she'd lowered Bronco's defense, Aura would inflict lots of damage on the Koffing.

Wait, did she?

No, that was wrong! She was a pacifist. Why would she want to hurt a poor Pokemon? But she was right now, and before she had told Aura to beat the other Pokemon. So what if she wasn't doing it directly? She was telling Aura to hurt the Koffing, and that was the same thing as hurting it herself.

Aura shot back at Bronco, ramming into it. The Koffing cried out in surprise, and fell down towards the ground. For a moment, it looked like it might faint. Before it hit, though, it regained its balance, and floated back up again. Then, Bronco spat out another Sludge Bomb.

"Aura, dodge it!" Lina cried. Her Eevee leapt up, trying frantically to get away from the attack. It had hurt before, and now that she was poisoned, it would hurt more.

Aura didn't get away, and the bomb hit her. The force of it sent her sliding across the ground painfully. But not as painfully as before.

"Aura!" Lina gasped, as the Eevee stood up, a rather confused look on her face. Lina was lost also. Why hadn't this one hurt more? The girl and Pokemon both looked back towards the Koffing, and found it unconscious on the ground.

"W-what? What just happened?" Lina asked.

Jaren glared at her. "Koffing fainted, obviously. You and your stupid Quick Attacks! It used one last attack before it fainted, and with only half the power." He recalled the Pokemon, disgusted.

Lina sighed. "We won, Aura!"

"Eevee!" Aura smiled back, a bit weakly. No, the Sludge Bomb hadn't been very painful, but she was still in bad shape: poisoned and close to fainting as it was.

"Now it's my turn!" grinned Andy. Lina's mouth hung open. How had she forgotten there were _two_ Pokemon to beat?

Aura obviously hadn't. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Andy.

"Can we do it, Aura?" Lina asked, worried.

"Vee," was the determined answer, though Aura was breathing heavily.

"Go, Choppy!" Andy called out, throwing out his Pokeball. A short human-type Pokemon jumped out: Machop. Its skin was leathery and greenish, and it had plates upon its head. It almost looked like a cross between a human and a dinosaur. Huge muscles lined its arms and legs.

"Oh no…" Lina groaned. Machop was a fighting Pokemon, and fighting types were especially strong against normal types!

"Oh yes!" Andy chortled. "Now, prepare to be DESTROYED! Choppy, Revenge!"

The Machop stood there, looking a bit confused. Aura hadn't attacked first, so it couldn't do anything with Revenge.

"Aura, Tail Whip!" Lina said, thankful for Andy's wasted attack. With enough lowering of its defense, maybe Machop would go down easily.

Aura, having used the attack continuously lately, used her tail to smack the Machop right in the face, darting away with a smirk on her face.

"Choppy, use Triple Kick!"

Choppy spun in a circle to kick Aura once, and missing the other two times. Aura had braced herself, and the attack didn't do much, even if it _was_ super effective.

"Keep lowering its defense!" Lina told Aura, and she Tail Whipped Choppy again.

Andy laughed. "Ready for this? Choppy, Counter!"

Again, the Machop stood there motionless. Tail Whip wasn't an offensive attack, Lina knew. What was Andy _doing_?

"Yay! Go Choppy!"

"Andy, you're an idiot," Jaren growled.

"Why'd you choose him to fight and not me?" the woman demanded.

"…No clue."

"Tail Whip, Aura!"

"Revenge again!"

Like before, Choppy stood there, an angry look on its face, as Aura used Tail Whip to lower is defense. "Maaaa-chop," it whined to Andy.

"I know, you're doing great!" the biker said happily.

Two more rounds of Tail Whipping went by, and both times Andy told Machop to use Counter. Lina felt a tiny spark of hope. Maybe she could still win! Though Aura was being weakened every round by the poison, they still had a chance.

"Now, Aura, use Quick Attack!"

Aura jumped in a blur at Choppy, slamming right into it and knocking it over. Andy gasped. "Choppy! Be okay! Use Bulk Up!"

Choppy staggered to its feet and used Bulk Up to raise its attack and defense slightly. But even though Normal attacks were extremely weak against Fighting types, Lina and Aura had the advantage now. One more Quick Attack and Choppy'd faint. Unfortunately, Aura looked extremely tired too.

"Aura, Quick Attack!" Lina called again. Aura hit Choppy one last time, and the fighting Pokemon fell over again – this time, he'd fainted. Andy recalled him.

"Yay! Aura, you did it!" Lina cried. Aura gave a weak smile before she also toppled over, unconscious. "Aura? Oh no!"

"Calm down," Jaren spat. "It's just fainted."

Lina recalled Aura. "You did really well," she murmured, proud of her little Pokemon. "It's okay, soon I'll get you to a Pokemon center."

"Poor Choppy!" Andy moaned. "My poor little Choppy got all beat up."

"Can I go now? I have to get to Fuchsia!"

"Hey, move aside," Jaren ordered, not looking at Lina. "Let her through." The bikers did as they were told, and Lina got back on her bike. She didn't say another word to them before she took off, riding down the hill as fast as she could go.

Lina happily saw that there were no more bikers to deal with: they'd all congregated in one spot. She tried to enjoy the rest of the ride, as her hair flew back and danced in the breeze, but she was worried about Aura. She knew Pokemon fainted a lot, of course, but she hoped Aura was still okay, and that she wasn't angry at Lina for not… running, or something.

As she neared the end of the slope, Lina turned her bike, riding west for a little, then hopping off her bike completely. She had reached a guard house, and opened the door to walk through – a lot more eager to pass through the door than she had been earlier, upon entering Cycling Road. Lina hurried through the guard house, and past the patch of grass with trainers gathered around it. Her grey eyes were set on the city right in front of her, and to the Pokemon center's welcoming sign.

She ran up the few stairs leading to the plaza of the city, and rushed to the center. She was greeted by Nurse Joy, and she gave her a tiny smile. "Can you heal my Eevee?" she asked, handing the nurse Aura's Pokeball.

"Of course," Nurse Joy said kindly. "Why don't you go look around – maybe go to the zoo? It will take me a few minutes to heal it completely."

Lina nodded. "Thank you," she said, turning and leaving. Outside, she realized that the sun was beginning to go down. It had taken her awhile to ride down Cycling Road, and it had already been late afternoon when she arrived in Celadon City. Lina wondered if her dad had found out where she was from Mr. Fuji. He hadn't tried to call yet, after all. And usually he was very overprotective of her.

Lina decided she'd take a walk through the zoo. It was north of the plaza area, and held in pens rare Pokemon. As she wandered past the Kanghaskan and looked in at the Lapras, she called her father.

"Hello, hello!" he answered cheerfully. "Are you calling to request dinner?"

"Hi, Dad. Uh… no. I'm actually…" A thought occurred to her. She either had to spend the night here, or ride all the way up Cycling Road again, a task which would take a long time. And she didn't want to be around those bikers at night. "I have to stay here for the night," she told him. Nurse Joy would let her stay in the Pokemon Center. She knew they doubled as a trainer hotel.

" 'Here'? Where is 'here'?" he asked. "Aren't you up at Rock Tunnel?"

"Uh, no. I'm in… Fuchsia City."

He laughed. "Do you want lasagna for dinner?"

"Dad, I'm being serious!"

He hesitated. "Lina, how would you even _get_ to Fuchsia City? You have to take the road along the seashore to get there, and it takes forever to walk."

"I went to Celadon first. Didn't Mr. Fuji tell you?"

"_Celadon_? You went to _Celadon_? My daughter, the one who always says it's too crowded when two people come in town to get their Pokemon names rated?"

Lina flushed. "Mr. Fuji needed me to take a message there."

"Well, that's not that long of a walk. But how did you get to _Fuchsia_?"

"Uh, by Cycling Road."

"You went down Cycling Road? But there's bikers!"

"I know. I battled them, though, so it was okay – "

"You _battled_ them? With what?"

"The Man Who Knows Everything gave me a Pokemon. An Eevee."

"Who's that?"

Lina sighed. "Okay, I'll tell you everything. But you have to promise not to interrupt me anymore. Or repeat everything I say."

"Repeat everything you _say_?" he stammered. "Just kidding."

Lina took a deep breath, and told him the whole story – leaving out the old man stalker and certain other details he'd be less than pleased to hear.

"Wow, that's uh… quite a story." He sounded angry.

"Are you mad?" she asked.

"Not at you."

"At who, then? Mr. Fuji? Dad, you can't be mad at _him_. He's senile. He doesn't know what's going on."

"He apparently knows something. What exactly is beginning?" he asked, about the message she was supposed to deliver to the Warden.

"I don't know. I'm just the messenger."

"Are you their permanent go-between then?"

"No. I don't think so. This is the last one, then I'll take the seaside path back to Lavender. I'll be home tomorrow."

"Where are you staying?"

"The Pokemon Center. It's perfectly safe, and everything. You know how they are."

"I still don't like this," he said.

"I know. Bye, Dad."

"Bye, honey." He laughed a tiny bit. "Celadon, now Fuchsia. You're becoming quite the explorer. Be careful."

"I will."

Lina hung up her phone, and turned around to go see the Electrode. Once she got Aura back, she'd go see the Warden. But suddenly, as she turned around, she rammed right into someone. Her phone went flying away, though she had bigger problems right now than finding out exactly where it had landed. Pain flooding her body, she felt like her nose – which had collided with the person's shoulder – had been broken in fifty places and then stomped on a few times for good measure. She grabbed it, wincing, and looked up to see who she'd crashed into.

_Oh no! xD Okay, that wasn't much of a cliffhanger, but the next chapter will be about Fuchsia City, so I had to stop this one somewhere. Anyway, please review!_


	3. Nosebleed and the Safari Zone

**Chapter Three: Nosebleed and the Safari Zone**

_So, from where we left off..._

Standing before Lina, a contemptuous glare on his face, was the biker from before. The one who'd made Jaren leave her alone back when she was heading to Celadon. Rico, she'd heard the others call him. But she only got a moment to recognize him before she remembered the searing pain in her nose.

"Didn't I tell you to watch it?" he growled.

"I'm sorry!" Her hand flew to her nose and she flinched at the pain.

"Yeah, well, you better be. If you run into me one more time – " He frowned. "You're bleeding, you know."

"What?" Lina realized her hand was wet with blood. How had she not noticed that? "Ahh!" One of the reasons peaceful Lina hated conflict was that she grew weak at the sight of blood. When it was accompanied with her own pain, she was lucky if she didn't pass out.

"Calm down, man. It's not so bad – "

She brought away more blood in her hand. "Ahh! You broke my nose!" She gasped. "You broke it you broke it you broke it!" Lina tended to go slightly crazy when blood was in the vicinity.

He glanced around. A woman and her son watched, shooting him nasty glares.

"You there! If you don't help this girl, I will press charges on assault!" the woman shrieked, pointing a knobby finger at Rico.

"I didn't do it!" he protested. "It was this klutz's fault, man."

"Do not call me a man! Take this girl to the Pokemon Center right away!"

Lina's eyes filled with tears. "I'm not a Pokemon!"

"Look, you made her cry!" the woman shouted. "I demand that you take her to Nurse Joy!"

Rico looked back at Lina, who was turning even paler than she looked. His eyes avoided looking at her nose, he grabbed her arm. "Fine. Come on."

"I'll never smell anything again!" Lina wailed as he dragged her off.

* * *

"There, that's better, isn't it?" Nurse Joy smiled. Lina's head was propped back and tissues were stuffed up her nose.

"Uh, I guess," she answered, her voice nasally. Now that the blood was gone, she was becoming more like her normal self.

"Your Pokemon is ready, too," Nurse Joy said. "Let me just go get her."

"Okay." Lina sighed.

"You're crazy, you know that, man?" Rico muttered as he sat there, his arms crossed.

"Well… I thought you had broken my nose. I'm sorry." Lina couldn't look at him, and her face flushed. Only her father had seen her go crazy like that before.

"If you remember, you were the one who walked into me."

"I know. I'm sorry. I wasn't looking."

He shook his head. "You seemed so… _sensible_ before. But you went insane."

"Well, everyone has their Achilles' Heel," she said, cringing.

"What?"

"…Never mind." She paused. "What exactly did I do?"

He looked at her. "You don't remember?"

"Not really." She averted her eyes.

"Let's just say Koga would have been happy with your ninja moves."

Lina blinked. "What does that mean?"

"That means you should stay away from the people with black eyes and bruises."

Lina gulped. "Oops."

Nurse Joy burst in, holding the Pokeball in her hands. "Here you go!" she chirped, handing Aura to Lina, then heading out again.

"Thanks," Lina said. She held the Pokeball up to her face. "Look, Aura. Er… if you can see, that is. I almost broke my nose."

"You weren't even close to breaking your nose." Rico frowned. "I thought you didn't have any Pokemon?"

"I do now. I got her in Celadon."

"So you're a real up-and-coming new trainer, huh?"

"No," she said, surprised. "I'm… I'm not doing the collecting badge thing. I just had to give a message to someone in Celadon, who sent me here."

"So you went down Cycling Road?" Rico smirked.

"Yeah." She sighed. "Jaren was there. And a few others. Andy, and… oh, I forget. But I battled Jaren and Andy."

"How'd you do?"

"I won." Lina smiled at Aura's Pokeball.

"That makes sense. They're crap trainers."

"Oh." Lina felt slightly dejected. Here she was, being proud for beating two trainers who weren't even good.

"So, you're all better, right?" he said, standing up.

"Uh, I guess. I will be."

"I'm out then." He began to leave, then turned back. "Hey, can I use your phone?"

She looked at him. "Why?" she asked.

"You have to pay to use the phones here, and I don't have a cell phone."

"Okay…" Lina dug in her bag, searching for her purple phone. But she couldn't find it, no matter how hard she tried. A crease of frustration came across her face. "It's not here!" Something dawned on her. "Oh no! When you broke my nose, I dropped it!"

"I didn't break your nose!"

"That doesn't matter!" Lina jumped up and raced out of the center. Tearing back to the zoo, she stopped running at the Lapras pen, breathing heavily (through her mouth – she wasn't taking any chances with her nose). Without her phone to keep some sort of connection with her home, she was really lost, and far away, and alone – all thoughts that terrified her. She couldn't find it, and leaned over the railing at the side of the Lapras' pool.

She heard someone come up behind her and didn't even feel like turning to see who it was. "Find it?" came Rico's voice.

"No," she muttered, though she was slightly confused as to why he was there. He was a biker, after all. Maybe he just wanted to steal it from her once she'd found it.

"You look like crap," he said.

She didn't look up, but felt her cheeks flush. She knew she was ugly, but nobody had ever, well, put it so bluntly like that before. "You're mean." She couldn't find any other words, and knew he'd laugh at her present vocabulary.

"I'm not trying to be. Look at yourself in the water," he said.

She looked towards herself. Her hair was mussed and frizzy from Cycling Road. Her face was more pale than usual, with a few dirt streaks and some dried blood still on it. Her nose, of course, seemed inflated with the tissues, which would have made her burst out laughing if she didn't feel so sorry for herself. Her knees and hands were scraped, and her clothes were disheveled and dirty. It seemed that when one left Lavender, one was in for a lot of scrapes and bumps and bruises and filth.

She sighed. "I guess I do," she said.

"What _happened_ to you in Celadon?"

"Not much. I'd still look normal if it wasn't for my nose being stuffed full of tissues."

"Keep thinking that if you want."

She smiled wanly, then frowned again. "Oh… my phone," she remembered.

"Ask the Lapras if it's seen it," Rico suggested. "Oh Laaaapraaas, have you seen her phone?"

Lina shook her head, knowing he was only trying to get her not to worry. It wasn't very successful.

The Lapras swam over, then suddenly stuck out its tongue. Seated on it was Lina's purple phone, covered (appropriately) in Lapras drool.

Both Lina and Rico stared at it for a few seconds before Rico grabbed it. "Uh, thanks, man." Lapras purred and swam off.

The biker held it by two fingers as he checked it over. "It seems like it still works," he said.

Lina opened her bag and pulled out the pack of napkins she embarrassingly carried around. Taking the phone with one, she dried it off. "I'll wash it better later," she said. "Well, do you still want to use it?"

"Uh… no. Surprisingly. I'll just go find Jaren."

Lina smiled. "He's probably still on Cycling Road."

"He usually is." Rico started to walk away. "Later, man."

"Bye," she said in return. On a sudden impulse, she called out, "Tell Jaren Lina says hi!

* * *

After she'd returned to the Pokemon Center and had made her nose look more normal, Lina headed off to find the Warden. Nurse Joy had informed her where his house was, and she hoped as she walked towards it that he'd be easier to find than the Man Who Knew Everything.

She knocked on the Warden's door, but there was no answer. Sighing and crossing her fingers, Lina opened the door and ventured in. Nobody was in the house. Leaving, with a disheartened feeling, she wondered if she should just leave him a note that had the message on it. But what if someone else found it and knew what it meant?

_It can't be helped_, she thought to herself sadly. _You'll just have to find him._

Lina retreated to the Pokemon Center and smiled at Nurse Joy, who had come to know her in the many times she'd been in the Fuchsia Center already.

"I'm sorry, but is there anywhere else that the Warden might be?" she asked.

"Well, you could always try the Safari Zone," Nurse Joy said. "He's there quite a bit."

Lina thanked her and headed north of the town, past the zoo, where she had seen that the Safari Zone was. Once she'd entered the building, she made her way to the man behind the desk.

"Excuse me, is the Warden here?" she inquired.

"Yeah, I think so. You wanna go in? You get a limited time, and you'll have to pay. You can't use your Pokemon to battle others."

Lina gulped. "Pay? How much?" She didn't have piles of money with her.

"P 500," he answered.

Well, it wasn't as if she'd be spending much more money later. This was her last stop, finding the Warden. "Okay," she said, pulling out her wallet slowly.

The man handed her a pack of 20 Safariballs, and she shoved them into her bag. She didn't really think it was necessary to bring any; it wasn't as if she'd be catching Pokemon while she was there. She already had Aura, and didn't need any more.

"Do you know where the Warden might be?" she asked.

"Probably in the Secret House." Before she could ask where that was, he continued. "It's a secret. You have to find it."

Lina sighed and thanked him, then headed into the Safari Zone.

As she waded through the tall grass, she couldn't help but feel she'd been ripped off. Rare Pokemon gathered around her, but she kept going. Sighing, Lina continued on, walking in the direction that promised a few houses along the way, none of them very secret.

Suddenly, a Nidorina popped up. "Niiidaaa!" it shrieked, almost making Lina fall over backwards.

"Okay!" she replied, and fled. Unfortunately, it was in a different direction, and she ended up on a lakeshore, lost. She didn't want to waste her time by going back and retracing her steps, so she continued to walk in the direction she was already going in.

It seemed to lead nowhere, she thought, as she wandered through a maze of trees and thick patches of grass. Trying to avoid the Pokemon-infested areas as best she could, Lina maneuvered from side to side. Finally, it seemed, after being in the narrow, tight space, the trees relented and she found herself in an open field, with water in one direction and a huge hill in the other.

Feeling more than a little despondent, Lina found a place to sit and collapsed with a sigh. She knew her time wouldn't be taken away while she rested, but one look at the pale sun told her that it was soon to be night. Imagining herself lost in the Safari Zone in the middle of the night was not a welcoming picture, and so she resolved to try and get to the Secret House as fast as she could.

Still, she didn't want to get up quite yet. If she did, another strange Pokemon would attack her, and she didn't feel like running away from any more. Reaching in her bag, Lina pulled out her phone, planning on calling her dad and asking him to Google the words "Safari Zone Secret House" for her. Then, something made her stop. She couldn't have her father worry about her, and if he knew she was lost in the Safari Zone, of all places, at dusk, he would worry, and most likely tell her to leave right now. And she had to find the Warden, or she wouldn't be able to get home. Somehow she didn't think that leaving the message scribbled on a Post-it note stuck to his door would do the trick.

Lina shoved her phone back in her bag, and instead pulled out Aura's Pokeball. She knew she wasn't allowed to fight the Pokemon here with her own, but Aura could at least give her some company.

"Come on out, Aura," she said, as the Eevee materialized from the ball in red light. She looked cured from her recent fainting, and Lina smiled.

"You're looking better," she said.

Aura nodded, sending her a smile back.

"I'm really sorry," Lina said, looking down, suddenly feeling a wave of guilt wash over her. "It was my fault that you fainted, and I'm sorry… I should have just run from them, or something."

Aura shook her head. "Ee-vee," she said.

Lina blinked. "Uh.. what does that mean?"

"Ee?"

"Uh…"

"Vee?"

"Er…"

Aura nuzzled her head against Lina's arm, making the girl smile. "Oh, okay. You're not mad at me?"

Aura again shook her head. "Vee!"

"I still feel bad…" Lina pet Aura's thin ears, and the Eevee smiled, contently closing her eyes. Then they flashed open again and she bounded away.

Lina jumped up. "Aura?"

"Eevee!" came Aura's call. She stopped and looked back, smirking at Lina and motioning for her to follow.

Lina slipped on her backpack and ran after Aura, who began loping through the meadow again.

"Aura, wait up!" Lina laughed, breathlessly. She knew the Eevee had no intention of waiting, and was running just for that reason. Blades of grass brushed against her bare legs as she ran, and a few times Pokemon almost leapt out at her (but she went by too fast for them to be anything but confused).

Suddenly, Aura came to a halt, and Lina caught up, confused. She looked down at her Eevee to see her eyes narrowed at something Lina hadn't even noticed. Her grey eyes following Aura's dark ones, she looked out at the darkening Safari Zone to see another Pokemon. Lina gasped: she'd never seen one like it before.

The Pokemon that stood in front of them was shadow black, with gold rings around its paws, tail, and ears. It almost looked like an Eevee, as it was fox-like in appearance, and had the same vulpine tail and long ears. It almost seemed like it was an evolution of Eevee, though Lina knew there were only three: Vaporeon, Flareon, and Jolteon. So what kind of Pokemon was this?

The Pokemon's cold eyes were a striking golden color that nearly matched its bands. As it stared across at them, the expression on its face was almost one of contempt, though Lina knew no reason why it would hate either of them. Aura glared back at it, defiantly.

"What _is_ that?" Lina finally said.

The Pokemon's eyes darted to her, and it seemed to regard her. Then, with a curl of its lip, it looked over its shoulder. For the first time, Lina saw a boy standing behind the Pokemon. His hair was messy and dark, and his eyes were piercing blue. Tall, and painfully thin, he wore baggy clothes that had the effect of making him look much smaller than he was.

"Oh, look, an _Eevee_," he said. "How nostalgic."

Lina blinked. "Uh… what do you mean?"

"What d'you _think_ I mean? My Umbreon here used to be one."

"Umbreon?" Lina repeated. "Is that what that is?"

"You've never seen an Umbreon before? Wow, you Kanto kids _really_ don't get out much."

Lina wasn't sure what to say to that. The Umbreon was glaring menacingly at Aura, white fangs exposed. The little Eevee was half its size, but she wasn't backing down.

"Pluto doesn't seem to like your Eevee much," the boy said. "It's a pity. He's an excellent fighter, though he does get in fights with everyone he doesn't like."

Lina bit her lip, worried. "Pokemon battles aren't allowed in the Safari Zone," she said.

"Oh, dear! A Pokemon battle, heavens no," he sneered. "Don't worry, Nosebleed. Pluto and me won't waste our time fighting you."

"Well, good – wait, what did you call me?"

"Nosebleed," he smirked. "I saw the whole thing."

Lina stared at him, feeling her cheeks grow hot.

"The whole _town_ saw the whole thing."

"Well… he almost broke my nose!" she said lamely.

"What, he fractured it?"

"Well… no… But it hurt a lot!"

The boy snorted. "If you're so traumatized, then why are you in the Safari Zone?"

"I have to find the Safari Zone Warden," Lina said. She looked to Aura to see that she hadn't given up her defensive stance yet. But neither had the Umbreon, Pluto.

"Why?"

"I have… a message." She hoped he wouldn't inquire further.

"What is it?" Obviously, he was the kind of person who destroyed all your hopes.

"I can't say. It's…"

"A secret?" he supplied.

"Yeah, I guess." She squinted at him, suddenly not so sure she should have told him anything. "Why are you so interested in it?"

"Well, here's the thing… You, being the helpless Kanto kid that you are, will get lost in the Safari Zone. Since I'm the only other person in it, they'll expect me to save you. But in the meantime, I need to find the Warden too, and it'll just waste my time if I have to go and rescue you." He smiled at her, patronizingly, and spoke a little slower, as if he were conversing with someone a quarter of his age. "So why don't you just tell me the message, and it'll save everyone time?"

Lina's cheeks grew even redder. She wasn't stupid, or helpless! Sure, she didn't know the area much, and didn't ever travel before this, but that didn't mean she couldn't find the Warden. She wanted to reply back scathingly, but couldn't: she didn't want to start anything, and she was always short on insults. "No thanks," she managed to say, eyes on the ground. "I'll stick to finding him."

"Suit yourself, Nosebleed. Don't expect me to save you."

"And what makes you think I need saving?" she found herself asking.

"Don't worry, I won't be saving you. I'm not that kind of guy, and even if I was, you wouldn't be the kind of girl I'd save."

Lina frowned. "What does that even _mean_?"

"It means you're not my type."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"A lot, actually. I won't rescue you, because you're not my type."

"I don't need to be rescued," she told him.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Why? Are you saying that girls can't do anything if a boy doesn't help them?"

"No, I'm talking about _you_. And you definitely will need help."

She sighed, realizing it was pointless to try and argue with him – especially when she couldn't argue very well. "We'll see," she said, and with that, promptly walked past him, Aura following closely. As she passed Pluto, she stuck her tongue out, and he growled.

"Break a leg, Nosebleed!" he called after her.

Lina wished she were one of those girls who always had a comeback as she scurried off. Actually, she'd settle for having a _backbone_, she thought morosely to herself. Aura looked up at her with a worried expression. "Ee?"

Lina looked down at the small tan fox and gave her a tiny smile. "Don't worry, Aura… we can find the Secret House all by ourselves!"

"Vee!" came the enthusiastic reply.

Unfortunately, Lina had forgotten that she had no clue where she was going, and now stood in a patch of grass with the hill to her right. The sun was inching further and further down towards the horizon, and the grass was now a warm green as the retreating sun bathed everything in its dying rays.

Lina and Aura continued on, neither exactly sure where they were going, and both hoping that the boy hadn't been right. But as they kept walking, and the path seemed to go nowhere, their hope wasn't exactly at its all-time high. And then, of course, they reached forks in the road like the one they'd come across now.

"Maybe over there?" Lina offered, pointing towards the left road.

Aura shook her head. "Vee!" She nodded to the right road, much more faint.

"But that just goes past the hill, Aura. And it's barely a trail anyway. Don't we want to keep going straight?"

Aura repeated the same motion she'd done before. "Eevee!" She scampered off on the right trail.

Lina sighed and followed. "Okay, Aura… But remember I'm not made of money!" She knew she could go in the Safari Zone again and start over once her time had run out, but she really didn't have much money left in her wallet. It was also getting dark, and if she were to travel the long eastern road back home the next day, she'd have to start that journey at least by noon. She didn't have the time or money to try the Safari Zone multiple times; in a way her pride wouldn't let her redo it either. It wasn't that she was in any way arrogant, or even the least self-confident, but she wanted badly to show the boy she could do it. In a way it was her own personal revenge, but she tried to think of it more as… oh, say, proving herself. (Of course, that was part of it, but in her subconscious she just wanted to rub it in his face and scream "I told you so".)

However, she followed Aura without mention of this. The Pokemon walked on stubbornly, and Lina couldn't help but smile as she thought of the little fox's determination. Before, she'd been as steadfast too, in the battle on Cycling Road. This time, it was as if she knew exactly where to go – like she'd been there before. This thought came to Lina, surprising her. Why would Aura have been here before? But, come to think of it, she didn't know anything about what the Eevee's life had been like until now. Lina wished she could understand her Pokemon, so she could learn about her past. Though, of course, she knew, it was silly to think Aura was familiar with the land of the Safari Zone.

_Or is it?_ she thought dully, after rounding a corner and coming face-to-face with a large building, different from all the others she'd seen. She couldn't mask the surprise on her face, and when she looked at Aura, amazed, the Pokemon rolled her eyes.

"Sorry," Lina said quickly. "I just didn't think you'd know how to – "

Aura had already leaped over to the front door and scratched on it with her paws. Taking a hint, her trainer turned the knob and opened the door. As Lina and Aura walked in, the girl almost expected to see the boy and his Umbreon there, looks of surprise on their faces. Preparing a winning smile, Lina glanced around the Secret House expectantly.

But they weren't there. In fact, the only person in the house was the Safari Zone Warden himself – somehow, Lina felt, she would have rather seen the boy and Pluto. Then she dismissed these thoughts, not knowing why she thought them. After all, Mr. Fuji had told her to take the message to The Man Who Knew Everything who had told her to take _this_ message to the Safari Zone Warden, and helping people was much better than getting revenge on someone. And wasn't it enough to know that she'd been able to accomplish this, when someone else had doubted her?

The Warden grinned at her, and she almost died of fright. His teeth were all gold and nearly blinded her. Aura seemed to squint at the sheer sheen of them as well.

"You must be Ursula! I'm the Safari Zone Warden!"

Lina stared at him. "Uh, no, I'm actually Lina."

He stared right back, 24-carat smile fading away. "Oh my. How embarrassing." He tapped his teeth with a finger, then smiled again. "Well, Lina! How can I help you?"

"I have a message, from the Man Who Knows Everything."

The Warden's face instantly turned serious. "I'm listening."

"H-he says that the time has come to begin."

"Oh!" the Warden hollered. Aura flinched; she heard his cry even louder than Lina had.

"Uh, are you okay?"

"Yes! I have been waiting for this for twelve years!"

"I'm… glad I could bring you good news?"

"You must be rewarded for coming all this way to tell me this!"

"Oh no, I was just doing Mr. Fuji a favor – "

"Mr. Fuji! Ah, yes! He is the leader, after all. Now, which HM would you like me to give you? You found the Secret House, and so deserve the HM Surf, but you have also brought me this news, and so deserve the HM Strength!"

"Really, I couldn't take any – "

"Can't choose? Well, then, take both!" His teeth shone. "After all, this is very very good news. Isn't it?" He turned to the table beside him, then opened the box and pulled out two flat, round objects that looked almost like CDs. One was blue, and the other white.

"Now, here you are!" he said. Lina hesitated. "Please, do take them. I insist."

Lina finally gave in. "Thank you very much," she said, taking them. She wasn't exactly sure what they were, but she knew what TMs were, and they couldn't be that different. Placing them in her bag, Lina smiled at the man. "I should be going," she said. "It's getting late."

"Yes, yes, of course! Goodbye, Lina! Thank you so much for bringing me this message!"

"Thank you for the gifts! Bye," she said, leaving the house, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Aura was at her heels as she set off to exit the Safari Zone.

The sky was a pale indigo, and the sun had vanished completely now. As they trudged along, both tired, they didn't care much about trying to avoid the Pokemon who sprang up. One Parasect hurled a mushroom at Lina's head, but it just bounced off and otherwise didn't do much harm.

"Well, I guess we're lost again," Lina said. "At least now we might run out of time and they might come find us."

"Eevee," Aura agreed with a nod of her head.

"So tomorrow we'll go back to Lavender Town," Lina said. "That's where I live… Have you been there?" The Eevee shook her head no. "It's up in the mountains, and very small. It's not like what you're probably used to, in Celadon. Nothing much happens in Lavender. Well, except when Mr. Fuji makes me do his errands for him. Which is how I ended up here."

They walked rather aimlessly, heading in the way that seemed like it would be the exit. But, then again, the Secret House hadn't been where Lina had thought it would be: it was off to the faded path and not on the main one. But that made sense to her now and had the effect of making her feel astoundingly stupid. It was a _Secret_ House, after all: why would it be on the main path? But the exit was no secret, so maybe that was easier to find.

They'd walked a considerable distance from the Warden's house, and Lina's legs were beginning to get the achy feeling one gets at night from a day of constant motion. And, she realized, it had been one. First the walk to Celadon, then exploring the city itself, Cycling Road, everything that had happened in Fuchsia, and finally the Safari Zone. It had been a much longer walk than she was used to (but she wasn't sure if going from Lavender to Rock Tunnel counted as a walk).

She supposed it hadn't been so bad. After all, now she'd have stories to tell her dad, and things to look back on and laugh (though she wasn't sure how soon she'd be laughing – more like _cringing_ at certain things, like the nosebleed and her panic attack). For a girl who never had anything happen in her life, the past day had been so jam-packed with things that she could barely remember waking up that morning, it seemed so long ago.

Nevertheless, she'd be glad to get back to cozy little Lavender Town, with its population of, what, seven? The place where nothing moved fast, and she didn't have to battle anyone or worry that some biker might be trying to steal her things. And there were no annoying boys with Umbreons there, either. Thinking of home, she felt happy, and relieved. She didn't have to deliver any more messages to anyone, and she could go home. Maybe someday she'd ask Mr. Fuji what it all meant, but for now, all she wanted to do when she got back was sleep, eat, and possibly introduce Aura to her dad (who would obviously try and change her name).

As she walked along, not even trying to keep the smile off her face, she suddenly heard something which soon wiped it right off.

"Breon."

Aura's fur stood up on the back of her neck, and Lina turned around to see Pluto. He was alone.

"Eevee!" Aura growled.

"Umbreon," Pluto snarled right back.

Lina watched as the two of them seemed to converse. She tried to guess what they were saying from their body language, but soon gave up.

Aura looked up at her. "Vee?"

"What?"

Pluto took off running, and Aura followed, giving a glance back at Lina. She recognized this, at least, and followed the two fox Pokemon, though her knees ached as she ran.

They went up a hill, then came across a cliff. The exposure in front of them was dizzying, and Lina gulped. But the Pokemon nimbly made their way down a narrow trail to the bottom of the gulch. Lina gasped at what she saw: it was Pluto's trainer, lying there unconscious.

"What happened?" she asked.

Pluto gave her a glare. Obviously he couldn't tell her.

Lina ventured closer, noticing thankfully there wasn't any blood – if there was, she'd be passed out, too. "Wake up," she said.

Pluto rolled his eyes. "Breon," he barked.

Lina frowned at him. "Well, what do you want me to do? _Carry_ him?"

Pluto nodded, golden eyes narrow as they glared at her. But, she saw, behind the impatience in them, he was also worried for his trainer. Lina sighed, and bent over, pulling the boy up and trying, nearly unsuccessfully, to put him over her shoulder. She fell down from his weight.

"Ahh! I can't carry him, he's too heavy!"

Pluto exhaled. "_Umbreon_."

Aura nodded to Lina, motioning for her to follow her again. The fox deftly scaled the slope and waited for Lina at the top of the hill.

"We can't just _leave_ him there," Lina said.

Aura shook her head. "Ee-vee."

"We're going to… go get help?"

Aura nodded. "Vee!"

Lina dragged herself up the slope, and looked back. "Okay, we'll be back!" They marched off heroically.

* * *

Almost an hour later, Lina, Aura, the boy, Pluto, and Nurse Joy all sat in the Pokemon Center.

"You'll be fine from now on," Nurse Joy said. "You should probably just stay away from Lina here. She's been at the Pokemon Center almost fifty times today."

"Don't worry, I intend to," the boy scowled, holding an ice pack to his head. "She's bad luck."

Lina didn't say anything. She and Aura just sat there, trying not to look smug. Well, Lina was trying to, at least. Aura had a grin on her face that she couldn't hide.

"Both of you are staying here tonight?"

"I am."

"You do have more than one room, right?" Lina pleaded.

"Of course," Nurse Joy said. "Where are you from, Lavender Town?"

"Uh…"

"Okay, I'm going to bed," Nurse Joy said. "Goodnight! Oh, and you better keep that ice on your head," she told the boy and left.

For a moment, nobody said anything. Then the boy glared at Aura. "What's _she_ so happy about?"

"Oh, I don't know," Lina said innocently.

"Look, I know what happened. But you know you didn't rescue me, right? So you got help, big deal. It wasn't as if you even found the exit."

Lina turned red. "How do you know?" Yes, ten minutes after she'd left the cliff she'd gotten lost. Finally, her time had been up, and she was magically transported back to the entrance, where she got help.

"I assumed, but you just told me. Never play poker." He stood up, heading off towards the room he was claiming as his.

Usually she would let that go, but Lina stood as well. She took a deep breath. "But I didn't need rescuing. You did."

"Yeah, but _you_ weren't the one who even rescued me. So you're not allowed to act all smug and self-satisfied."

"No, I _didn't_ rescue you," she said. "After all…" A smile stretched across her face. "You're not my type."

It was her turn to leave for her room, and Aura shot the surprised boy and his Umbreon a wicked look, complete with a triumphant sticking out of her tongue, before she turned and pranced after her trainer.

* * *

_No, this is definitely not the end of the fic. xD Don't worry, Lina's adventures aren't done yet. Please review!_


	4. Kidnapping and a Shipwreck

**Chapter Four: Kidnapping and a Shipwreck  
**

_Woohoo, I finally updated. xD Sorry it took me so long!  
_

* * *

Lina woke early, but Aura even earlier. As soon as the girl woke up, she saw that her Eevee had been up for awhile, waiting there impatiently. When she saw that she was awake, Aura grinned.

"Eve!" she barked, restless.

Lina smiled, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "Hi Aura. Ready to go back to Lavender?" she asked. She definitely was. She was sick of being on the road.

Aura nodded, and Lina got out of the Pokemon Center bed. She dressed and got ready, then she and Aura left their room to go get breakfast. She was almost hoping the boy was still there so she could see if he acted any differently around her, but was also relieved when Nurse Joy informed her he and his Pokemon had left nearly an hour ago.

As the two ate breakfast, Lina told Aura of Lavender Town. "It's very small," she said. "But there's a big Pokemon Tower, where the ghosts of Pokemon live. And the Name-Rater, that's my dad. Some people call the town quaint, but others call it spooky. Lots of people think it's haunted, but that's just superstition." Aura listened, and tilted her head. Lina wasn't sure if the Eevee was happy to be going back to live somewhere, or if she'd rather have stayed on the road. It wasn't as if Lina knew her Pokemon very well yet.

She thanked Nurse Joy and recalled Aura to her Pokeball, then put her in her backpack carefully. Lina got on the bike that belonged to the Man Who Knew Everything – she was planning on returning it as soon as she felt like leaving Lavender again – and began to ride up the eastern coast towards her town.

It was a nice morning, if a bit chilly. Lina liked it though, the colder air reminded her that she'd get home soon. The town of Lavender was usually nice and foggy, with its grey tendrils of mist snaking around the Pokemon Tower as she looked up at it.

The morning fog hadn't yet burned off as she rode east, past the tired looking trainers who didn't want to battle quite yet, and then north. She passed a grove of trees, but she heard her name being called, and stopped shortly, startled, with a jerk.

Looking back, she saw the bikers, all advancing toward her. Jaren and the dirty blond were in front, and Lina didn't really recognize the others. Somewhere behind them she spotted Andy's bright blue hair.

"LINA!" Andy cried, waving as he rode his bike towards the front. "Hi, Lina! Remember me?"

Lina blinked. "Uh, yes…" She'd only just battled him yesterday, after all.

"Where you going?" Jaren demanded.

"Lavender Town," she replied, a little uneasy.

"So you _are_ a Lavender kid?" Jaren asked, an ephemeral look of surprise on his face. "That's what Rico said, but Sheila here thought you were more Pallet Town."

Sheila, dirty blonde, snorted and nodded at Lina, her wild strings of hair flying about her moon-shaped face.

Lina nodded back timidly.

"Jaren, you're hopeless," came another voice. She recognized it as Rico's, and he rode closer to the front now. "I _told_ him you were from Lavender, but he's not so good at listening."

"Yeah! He did, he did!" Andy cried. He looked at Lina and nodded. "Believe me. I was there."

"Shut up, Andy," Jaren groaned.

"You going back home?" Rico asked.

Lina nodded.

Rico looked back at the others, then turned to her again. "Need us to escort you there? There's all kinds of undesirables on this road."

"Nobody's gonna mess with her," whined Jaren. "Why would they?"

"_You_ did," Rico pointed out.

"No, that's okay," Lina said, a little confused at the offer. "I have Aura, and it's not that far… I'll be fine."

Jaren crossed his arms. "Aura. Right. That little runt."

Sheila hacked. "That little runt beat your Bronco," she said, then spit, dangerously close to Jaren's bike.

"Shut up, He-ila."

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Sheila roared.

Lina, afraid she might spit again, gave them all another wave. "I'd better go! Bye!"

Rico nodded. "Seeya, Lina."

Andy jumped up and down, waving. "BYEEE! HAVE A GOOD TRIP!"

"I still say we shoulda jumped her," Jaren grumbled as Lina rode away – more quickly at this comment.

The rest of the ride was rather uneventful, up until a point. Lina avoided trainers when she could, though she did have to battle a few weak ones, Aura winning easily, and by the time she made it up to the long pier walk, it was lunchtime and she was tired.

She stopped the bike and let it rest against a tree, then sat on the edge of the pier. She let out Aura and they had some food that Lina had packed in Fuchsia. People went by, but they didn't really notice her much, and soon she and the Eevee were done eating.

Lina still felt tired, and wasn't in a hurry to get back on the bike. And Aura wanted to swim. The Eevee jumped in the water with a splash, which scared Lina at first, until the little fox resurfaced and began doggy-paddling. Lina laughed as she watched her swim to and fro, diving down, swimming in circles. Aura looked so happy in the water.

"Maybe you'd like to evolve into a Vaporeon," she said.

Aura nodded with a grin as she swam. "Ee! Vee!"

Lina smiled back. "That is, if I can ever afford a water stone."

Lina was debating sticking her feet in the water, but finally decided against it. After all, she was going to be cycling back up the hill soon.

Lazing back in the late morning sun, Lina closed her eyes in relaxation. It was nice here, she decided. Maybe she'd come back sometime for a day trip. Of course, not to this exact place, but near it, of course. After all, if Aura evolved into a Vaporeon, she'd want to swim a lot.

She thought of what it would be like if Aura could swim her across the ocean, and the idea made her a little worried just to think about. That was a much bigger journey than just cycling or walking to nearby towns – it was actually going to other countries, exploring lands, battling wild Pokemon at sea. Nevermind being unfamiliar with terrain, she'd be completely lost at sea!

As she was lost in her own daydreams, she suddenly came back to consciousness when Aura dragged herself back up onto the pier and shook. Water droplets came flying off the Eevee and all onto Lina, startling her out of her state. She frowned at the Eevee, whose mane had become puffy and large. The sight of her was so funny that Lina couldn't be mad at her, though she did have to remove her glasses and wipe the water off the lenses.

But suddenly Aura's lips curled back and she flashed her teeth, growling. Lina blinked. "What's wrong, Aura?" For a moment, she thought her Eevee was growling at her, then, when a hand clapped over her mouth and a blindfold jerked tightly over her eyes, realized with fear someone has snuck up behind her. Struggling to get away, she wasn't sure what to do, and she flailed behind her with her hands, hitting the person who had grabbed her.

She couldn't see, but she heard the sound of Aura yelping, and then she didn't hear her Pokemon anymore. Lina's hands were grabbed roughly and tied together behind her back with something that made her wrists itch, and her capturer dragged her up and forced her to walk. But she hadn't gotten very far when, all of a sudden, she was punched in the gut, and she whited out.

-x-

The next time Lina awoke, she was in darkness. She lay, still bound, but not blindfolded anymore, in a musty space. She didn't know how big it was, or even if it was a room, but she forced herself to get up and walk until she reached a wall. It wasn't very far.

Where was she? Lina's mind had kicked in, and now she fell back down to the ground with a sense of despair. What was going on? Had she just been kidnapped? Where _was_ she?, she asked herself again. She heard creaking beneath her and a rocking sensation, as if she were being carried in a box, or something equally as horrible.

She didn't know what to do, and so she cried. She couldn't help it. She hated crying, cried too much, but she felt completely helpless. What could she _do_? Could she ever even get out? Had she just been thrown in this awful place to die? What had happened to Aura? Was she all right? If only Lina hadn't let her out of her Pokeball, maybe they wouldn't have been able to hurt her. She'd heard her cry out, had they gotten her too? What would her father think when she didn't come home that day as she said she would? Would he come looking for her? Would she ever see him again?

She cried for herself, she cried for Aura, and she cried for her father. And she cried because she couldn't do a _thing_. She was stranded, helpless, alone, and she didn't have a clue what she could do to try and get out of this horrible place.

And yet for as many hours as it seemed she cried, she finally stopped. She couldn't cry anymore, and had grown tired of it. It seemed as if she couldn't just become tired of it – it was something she had little to no control over – but she did grow weary of it. Her head ached, as did her stomach.

She began to wonder who had kidnapped her, and why. It wasn't as if her father was rich, he couldn't offer much of a ransom for her. And she didn't have much money with her, or any Pokemon besides Aura. Although Eevees were rare, she didn't think that someone would kidnap her just to get her Pokemon.

Gradually, she stopped feeling lost and listless and began to grow angry. Or at least a Lina form of angry. How could they just take her like this and put her somewhere? It wasn't fair. She didn't know who they were, and why they'd captured her, but she didn't like it and she wanted to get out, now.

At the same time, fear washed over her, a cold, sickening fear, and she screamed. She kicked the walls as hard as she could. She rammed into each wall with all her might, but nothing happened. She felt as if she were being watched by a group of scientists, like a lab Rattata. She didn't know what they wanted her to do.

But after she'd grown too weary to even scream anymore, she collapsed down to the ground again, her throat sore, her feet throbbing, and her head pounding. She lay in a crumpled heap on the ground, her hands still tied behind her back. She realized, like a slow animal just waking up, that her glasses were gone. She wondered if she'd ever been wearing them this whole time.

After she could do nothing more but lie in the fetal position, her arms sore from not moving, and close her eyes, something happened. One of the sides of the thing she was in slid open, and light poured in. Even with her eyes closed, it was painful. She would have screamed again had she not lost her voice. As it was, she curled up even tighter, trying to protect herself from the light and the people who stood there.

But, eventually, as she had grown used to the dark, she grew used to the light again, until it only hurt a little to look at the doorway – as that was what it was. She was in a tiny room, more like a cabinet than a cell – and there were two black-clad men standing before her. She recognized the clothes they were as the uniform of Team Rocket, and this made her even more frightened.

"Ugh, she looks terrible," one said.

"She's only been here for five hours," the other said. "Think how she'll look a week from now."

Lina barely processed the information, but heard that. Looking at them, eyes wide, she tried to ask them, to beg them to let her out. She couldn't be in there for a week. She couldn't be in there anymore!

She summoned up her energy and shakily rose to her knees, dragging herself out towards the light. But the Rockets only laughed.

"Don't worry, you get out soon," the second one said. "Well, it all depends, on your good behavior."

"We won't get any trouble from this one," the first said. "Look, she can't even talk."

Lina stared back at them. She didn't have an idea what they were planning to do with her, but she couldn't go back in the darkness.

One knelt down and stared her in the face, and she didn't have enough strength to do anything but turn her head slightly away from him.

"You'll be good, won't you?" he demanded.

_Please don't let them rape me, please don't let them rape me_, Lina thought to herself frantically. It was all she could do now. She was too weak.

"Here, take her up. Not all the way, just one story up."

The other one nodded, and grabbed Lina's shoulders, hoisting her up. Her knees were shaky, and she couldn't stand well, much less walk, but he dragged her after him. It was all she could do to keep from falling over as he led her along. They came to a staircase, and he forced her to climb it, pulling her back up when she fell and always making her keep going.

They finally reached the top of the stairs, where Lina was taken to another door. Her eyes widened again, fearing it was going to be another dark room, but when he opened it, she felt a wave of relief wash over her. This room was lit, if only dimly, and had a single cot in it, nothing else. There was a tiny window over the cot, but she couldn't see out of it this far away.

"There," he spat. "We'll come back later to give you food."

She wanted to demand he let her go, or even just answer her questions. But even if she had her voice, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to. But she must have done something, because he turned back, and said one more thing:

"It starts tomorrow."

He left the room, slamming the door behind him, and Lina shakily looked out the round window. Through it, she saw sky, and water. The ocean. They were on a ship.

Before she could even begin to think about this, she laid back on the cot and fell asleep out of pure exhaustion.

-x-

The next time she woke, she was sore all over from ramming the walls of the dark cell she'd been in. Her head still ached, and her hands were sore where they were bound behind her. It was too painful to move, and so she couldn't do anything but lie there. She wasn't sleepy, but her body was exhausted, and she could barely keep her eyes open in the gloom. She couldn't see anything without her glasses anyway, so what was the point of keeping them open?

It seemed like she lay like that for hours, though it couldn't have been that long. She drifted in and out of consciousness, though she never quite fell asleep. She tried not to think about what was happening to her, and instead thought of familiar, happy thoughts of Lavender Town. But sometimes her brain didn't quite want to obey her, and it slipped into the frantic, panicky thoughts of her current situation. She tried to dispel those thoughts as quickly as she could.

Then, she heard someone approaching the door. Her eyes flew open, though they weren't much good for anything, and she pushed herself away, towards the wall behind her, as best she could.

The door flew open, revealing two foggy people-like shapes dressed in black.

"Look, she's awake," said a woman's voice, and they stepped closer to her.

"Have a good rest, Leeeeena?" the other person, a man, sneered.

Lina flinched at hearing her name. How did they know it? Then she realized that they probably would know it, after all – they wouldn't have just grabbed any random person they saw, right? There had to be something she had that they wanted, and that was why they'd taken her. But… what was it? She didn't have anything they could possibly want that they had to abduct her for. Why hadn't they just robbed her?

The woman grabbed her arm and pulled her up. "Come on," she demanded.

Lina struggled to remain standing. The man groaned and grabbed her other arm. "She's so _weak_," he complained to the woman, as they dragged her out the door.

Before she could lose her breath, Lina opened her mouth and tried to speak. "Wh-where are you taking me?" she managed to say, her voice shaky and hoarse.

"Shut up," the man said. She obeyed.

After what seemed like the most strenuous hike she'd ever been on (to the end of the hall, up some stairs, and to the end of that hall), the two people pulled her into another room. It was much bigger than hers, but she couldn't exactly tell what was in it.

"Sit down," commanded the woman, shoving her into a chair. Lina's heart was beating fast from the exertion.

There was another person in the room, this one a much taller woman. Sitting by her side was some kind of blue-ish Pokemon, but as they two of them approached, Lina saw that it was a Nidorina.

"Well, well," the woman said. "You're Lina, hmm?" Her voice was syrupy sweet, and as she reached Lina, she held out her hand, offering her something.

Lina couldn't tell what it was, and she just stared at it. Her hands were, of course, tied behind her back still.

"Well, don't you want them?" the woman asked. "Your glasses?"

Lina looked up at her. "Um… yes, but my hands…"

The woman gasped. "Oh, dear, your hands are bound, aren't they?" She turned to the two people standing silently by the door. "Did you two do this?"

"No, that's how we found her, ma'am," the man said.

"Find out who bound her hands," she ordered. "Rina, cut her hands loose."

The Nidorina obeyed, not making a sound, and Lina could move her hands again. She stretched her sore arms and twisted them, trying to get circulation started. She reached up with one trembling hand and took the glasses, then put them on, and the room flooded into focus.

"Hello," the woman said, smiling at her. She was tall and striking, with porcelain skin and red curls. Her eyes were a deep velvety brown. She wore a formal black dress with the letter "R" in red on the front: a Rocket uniform, Lina guessed, for one who didn't have to do much of the dirty work. The woman sat down in the armchair next to Lina's, and her Nidorina quietly sat down beside her, leering at Lina.

" I am Isabel," she said. "It's nice to meet you, Lina."

"Nice to meet you," Lina replied without thinking, then realized it wasn't, really. After all, she was being _kidnapped_.

Isabel laughed. "Well, you are a polite one, aren't you? I must confess, I was expecting you to be much more… oh, I don't know. Older, for one thing. You're barely more than a child!"

Lina turned red. She looked younger than she was, and people were always mistaking her for an early teenager instead of a late one. But instead of correcting the woman, she looked at her, confused. Isabel had held previous expectations for her? Then that confirmed her suspicions, and she was being kidnapped for a reason. "So you heard about who I was, then?"

"Well, you do catch on quickly, don't you?" Isabel smirked. "Yes, of course I have heard about you. Why do you think you're _here_, Lina?"

Lina shrugged. "I don't know…"

"We brought you here because you know something we _want_ to know," Isabel explained. "And if you're willing to tell us exactly what we ask, you can go back home right away. Does that sound fair to you?"

Lina looked back at her, puzzled. "What? I don't know what you're talking about."

Isabel laughed. "Oh, I think you do, Lina," she said, then glanced at the two people behind Lina. "Out," she demanded, glaring at them. They did what she told them, not speaking another word. Then Isabel smiled at Lina. "So, why won't we just get down to it, then? You've seen how efficient our program runs, haven't you? We only learned about you two days ago. The next day, we found you and brought you on board, and today we're meeting with you."

"Um, it seems like a good system," Lina said, because she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"It is. Now, would you like to tell us what it is you know?"

Lina's head felt far too heavy for her neck, and she rested it on her hand. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said again.

A hint of irritation flashed across Isabel's face. "Oh, don't play dumb," she snapped. "You know very well what information we need."

Lina stared at her, blankly.

"What Fuji told you," Isabel said. "The message you took to Celadon, and to Fuchsia. What is it?"

Lina blinked. "What? Why does that matter?"

"Please answer the question, Lina."

"I don't know," she said. "I'm not even a part of that, he just asked me to take a message."

"Well, that's all very well and nice, but by accepting to deliver this message, you became quite a big part of it." Isabel sighed and leaned back. "Tell us what his message was, now."

"I don't know," Lina said. "It was in an envelope."

"And you took this same envelope to Fuchsia?" Isabel asked.

"Yes – wait, no."

"Did you take a different envelope, then?"

"Well, no, not exactly…"

"Then what kind of form was the message in?"

"Well, the Man Who Knows Everything just told me to tell someone there a little message. It won't even mean anything to you, though."

"What was it?" Isabel pressed. "It could mean many things."

"He said…" Lina suddenly had the intense desire not to tell her anything, even if it was only the cryptic ''the time has come to begin'. Was this Aura's stubborn influence on her, she wondered? Aura – where was she? These people had taken her, too. They'd taken Aura away from her, and taken Lina on this huge _ship_, and kept her in a dark cell, and beaten her. Why would she tell them _anything_? She looked down at the floor, not being able to look at Isabel. "I'm not telling you."

Isabel leaned closer. "Excuse me?"

"I'm not telling you," Lina repeated, finally able to drag her eyes back up and look straight at Isabel. "I won't tell you the message."

Isabel sighed. "I truly had hoped it wouldn't come to this."

Lina eyed her uneasily. "Come to what?"

"We have various ways of making you speak, you know," Isabel told her, examining her nails. "I prefer this sort of way, with a nice friendly chat, but I suppose there's nothing we can do about it if you won't comply."

Lina blinked. Did Isabel mean torture? Most likely, she thought. What else could she have meant? But was she actually serious? Did people even _use_ torture anymore? Lina felt strangely detached from Isabel's threat, as if she were looking down and observing it, twisting it around to try and make it logical. The thought barely dawned on her that Isabel was threatening to torture _her_. If she'd realized that at the moment, she would have been nowhere as calm as she felt – she would probably have run in circles or given up the information right then and there. But since she wasn't affected by the idea of torture at all in her mind, Lina didn't care much about it.

"I'll give you one last chance before it begins, Lina," Isabel purred. "Tell me the message."

Lina looked up and at Isabel. "No," she said.

Isabel's confident face slipped for a moment into a glare, but she quickly masked it. "I hope you like pain," she hissed, then pressed a button on her desk. The two Rockets who had brought Lina in came rushing back into the room. "Take her back to her room," Isabel ordered. "Tonight, we'll show her what Team Rocket does to people who don't comply."

-x-

Later, Lina was lying in her room. Her hands were still free, but the door to her room was locked. She was beginning to realize what was really going on. Torture? She went insane when she saw blood. How could she withstand torture? And was this message even important?

She began to shake. Why had this happened to her? She was supposed to stay in Lavender with her Name-Rating dad. She wasn't supposed to go off on adventures and get kidnapped and tortured! Wasn't there any way for her to get out of this?

Suddenly, the ship jerked to the side, as if by a huge impact. Lina grabbed onto her bed, startled. What was going on? The ship moved again, tilting away from the direction of Lina's window. She was almost thrown off her bed to the other side of the room, but she clutched onto it as hard as she could. Something was hitting the boat.

Trying in vain to see what was crashing into it, Lina looked out the window. But she couldn't see a thing. She gripped to the bedpost as hard as she could as the boat again rocked, and did so three more times. On the next time, she heard a great groaning sound as the ship slowly turned over onto its side. Eyes wide with fright, Lina had no idea what to do. Out of her window, she was staring up at the sky. How had this happened?

She was literally hanging off her bed now, just trying not to fall to the other side. The window was fogged up from water constantly hitting it as the ship moved, but she thought she saw a motion high overhead in the sky. As she looked harder to try and see, she suddenly realized that a blue object was falling fast towards her. It hit the window of her cabin and shattered it completely. As tiny shards of glass flew on her, she shielded her face. Most of the glass fell on her arm and hair, and she was lucky not to get any in her eyes. The stone had fallen into the crook of her arm as she covered her face, and when the glass stopped falling, she looked at it, amazed, holding it in her hand. It was a water stone. What was going on? She grabbed the water stone in her hand. They were said to be good luck when at sea.

Realizing she now had a way to escape from the ship, and seeing that water was slowly pouring in through the window, she tucked the water stone in her pocket and pulled her arms through the window. She tugged herself out until she was standing on the side of the ship, partially submerged in water. Glancing around, she saw a few islands in the distance. She realized that she wasn't a good swimmer and that she would never make it there. But she had to try.

Lina jumped into the water and began to swim towards the islands. She wasn't very far when she felt something wrap around her leg and jerk her down in the water. Panicking, she looked beneath her to see a huge Tentacruel beneath her. She tried to free her leg, but it was no use. Lina took one last breath before it dragged her below water. She kicked frantically, but the Tentacruel was taking her down to the bottom of the sea. It wasn't soon before she felt she was running out of air. Some good luck charm the Water Stone was! She pulled it out of her pocket, then with her last amount of strength, rammed it against the Tentacruel's tentacle. The Pokemon cried in pain and let go of her, swimming off to go lick its wound. Lina tried to swim back up to the surface, but she didn't have the strength she needed. She was running out of air, as well… Finally, she could swim no longer, even though her lungs felt they would burst, and closed her eyes. She had no energy left, and all she could do was float there. Her last conscious thought was that she was holding on tightly to the Water Stone…

* * *

_Aw, poor Lina. D: Don't worry, she's not dead. Though maybe I shouldn't have told you that, to keep some kind of cliff-hangy ending. Oh well. xD Anyway, please review and I'll try and update soon!_


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